What is a Connecticut Green LEAF School?
The Connecticut Green LEAF Schools program is a
collaborative effort of the Connecticut Departments
of Construction Services, Education, Energy and
Environmental Protection and Public Health,
as well as many Connecticut environmental and
educational organizations created to promote
green and healthy schools for all. The Connecticut
Green LEAF Schools program guides and recognizes
schools for striving toward three essential goals:
Provide Effective Environmental and Sustainability
Education. The school will focus on interdisciplinary
learning featuring relationships between the environment,
energy and human systems, civic engagement with the
local community, and connections to Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) content and practice.
Improve the Health and Wellness of Students
and Staff. A school must strive to integrate school
environmental health programs, nutritional and fitness
standards, and quality outdoor time to meet the second
goal of the Connecticut Green LEAF Schools program.
educe Environmental Impact and Cost.
R
A Connecticut Green LEAF School will ensure that its
environmental footprint is small by ensuring that the
school’s buildings maximize energy and water efficiency,
focus on waste reduction and recycling, and promote
alternative transportation use.
Why Become a Connecticut Green LEAF School?
Connecticut Green LEAF Schools are healthy, productive
learning environments for students, educators and
administrators. Studies show that a green school raises
student academic achievement, saves money and improves
the health of students and staff. Schools with strong
environmental literacy education build critical thinking
skills by designing curriculum that provides interesting and
relevant contexts for learning core concepts and skills in state
standards and assessments. These schools are energized by a
mission to make a difference in their school and community.
• Academic Benefits: Environmental education contributes
to overall academic achievement and higher performance
on standardized tests when it is strategically integrated
into the curriculum. Students learn more effectively within
a real-world, experiential-based context combined with
traditional textbook-based approaches.
• Health Benefits: Going green offers many health benefits
for students and staff, including improved nutrition and
physical health. A focus on healthy eating, physical activity
and healthy environments pays off in decreased obesity,
asthma and other illnesses while increasing attendance.
• Reduced Costs: Green schools are energy efficient, have
lower utility costs, conserve resources and reduce waste.
Savings on energy, waste and water bills is extra money
that can be put into academic programs.
Every school is unique and starts from a different level.
The Connecticut Green LEAF Schools program can
help your school on its path to becoming greener!
CONNECTICUT
GREEN LEAF
SCHOOLS
Leading, Educating, Achieving and Fostering
healthy, green schools for all.
CONNECTICUT
GREEN LEAF
S C H O O L S
CONNECTICUT
GREEN LEAF
S C H O O L S
Ideas For Becoming a CT Green LEAF School
• Provide Effective Environmental and Sustainability
Education. Examples of successful environmental and
sustainability education initiatives include: implementing
nationally recognized programs (e.g., Project Learning
Tree, Project Wet, Project WILD, or Food, Land and People)
connected to state standards, project-based and service
learning in the community, STEM partnerships with
businesses or universities, sustainability fairs, environmental
restoration projects, and outdoor classrooms.
• Improve the Health and Wellness of Students and
Staff. Successful school strategies would include:
participating in the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Tools for Schools
program, integrated pest management, green cleaning
Becoming a Connecticut Green LEAF School
Every school is unique and starts at a different level. The
Connecticut Green LEAF Schools program will recognize
schools that have made significant progress toward greening
their schools, as well as those that are just beginning.
The program can help all schools on their journey to
becoming green and is an important application of the
CT Environmental Literacy Plan found at www.coeea.org.
• Planting Seeds: This level is for schools assessing their
baselines and in the earliest stages of developing their
sustainability plans. This level lays the foundation for a
more sustainable school community in the future.
• Growing Green: This level is for schools that have made
significant progress in meeting the three primary goals of
the Connecticut Green LEAF Schools program, but need
additional assistance to achieve some goals.
programs, daily exercise and health classes (for example:
yoga and dance fitness programs), vegetarian food choices,
farm-to-school partnerships, butterfly/vegetable/rain
gardens, hydroponics and greenhouses, and outdoor
classrooms/nature areas.
• Reduce Environmental Impact and Cost. A school can
achieve this goal through several initiatives including:
student energy teams, onsite renewable energy systems
and learning, student involvement in planning building
additions, recycling and composting programs, paperless
classrooms, walk-to-school programs, and attaining
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED),
ENERGY STAR® and Collaborative for High Performance
Schools (CHPS) and other green building rating standards.
• Connecticut Green LEAF Schools: Schools that have
made significant progress in all three goals will qualify for
Connecticut Green LEAF Schools recognition.
Green Ribbon Schools
This is a U.S. Department of Education recognition program
for K-12 schools that have made significant progress in
reducing their environmental impact, improving student and
staff health, and providing effective environmental education.
This recognition is part of a larger U.S. Department of Education
effort to identify and disseminate knowledge about practices
proven to result in improved student engagement, academic
achievement, graduation rates, and workforce preparedness,
as well as a government-wide aim to increase energy
independence and economic security. The state can
nominate up to four Connecticut Green LEAF Schools
annually for the Green Ribbon Schools award.
For More Information
Further information about the Connecticut Green LEAF
Schools program, including a list of resources to assist in
greening your school, can be found at:
www.ctgreenschools.org/ctgreenleaf.htm
Questions about the program should be sent to:
[email protected]
Schools that participate will receive program support,
resources and curriculum, professional development
and learn best practices from school “mentors.”
CONNECTICUT
GREEN LEAF
S C H O O L S
Leading, Educating, Achieving and Fostering
healthy, green schools for all.